Department for Transport

Monarch Airlines: Insolvency

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the Administrator's Report on the collapse of Monarch Airlines Group, published on 24 November, and the disclosure that substantial sums will be paid to Petrol Jersey Ltd and Windsor Jersey Ltd, both affiliates of the owners of Monarch, Greybull Group; whether they have now made progress in recovering public monies expended by Her Majetsy's Government in repatriating to the UK passengers of Monarch airlines; and if so, what.

baroness sugg: The Insolvency Service’s enquiries into the insolvency of Monarch are ongoing and it continues to liaise with the administrators and the CAA to establish the facts surrounding the administration of Monarch Airlines Group. The Department for Transport are continuing to work with several third parties, including relevant card providers and travel providers through which passengers have booked flights, to recover costs from the repatriation operation. We have begun the process of issuing invoices to third parties, and we will report back with more detail on cost recovery in due course.

Motorcycles: Licensing

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Sugg on 6 December (HL3547), which are the police forcesthat collect and publish statistics on the number of accidents involving moped riders with provisional licences; and why all police forces are not required to monitor and report on that aspect of road safety.

baroness sugg: Information about licence holding is not a variable in the STATS19 reporting system, which is the set of data that has to be collected for statistical purposes by a Police Officer when a personal injury road accident is reported to them. The variables to be collected by the police are defined by the STATS19 specification, and the police provide this information through the Annual Data Requirement. Data on licence holding is only reported voluntarily by certain police forces which use the CRASH (Collision Recording And Sharing) software developed by DfT, and the data are not made available publicly. CRASH is used by about half of the police forces in England, and not all of these collect the licence holding information. The specification for the data collected by STATS19 is reviewed periodically by the Standing Committee on Road Accident Statistics (SCRAS).

Dartford-Thurrock Crossing: Tolls

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Callanan on 14 September (HL1402), whether they are now in a position to provide the data requested on the writing off of fines for failure to pay the Dartford Crossing charge.

baroness sugg: Highways England are continuing to finalise the 2016/17 Dartford River Crossing accounts, which are currently being audited by the National Audit Office. As a result, we remain unable at present to provide figures relating to fines for the last 12 months.

East-West Rail Link: Freight

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the potential market for freight services on the new Oxford to Cambridge rail line.

baroness sugg: The Department for Transport and Network Rail are making an assessment of the potential market for freight services across the East West Rail route. Initial work has completed on the Western Section between Oxford and Bedford, with further work planned on the Central Section, between Bedford and Cambridge, as the programme develops.

High Speed Two: Redundancy Pay

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what actions they are taking, following the finding by the National Audit Office in Julyregarding redundancy payments to staff that exceeded Department for Transport restrictions, to ensure that HS2 Limited cannot in future fail to comply with government guidelines.

baroness sugg: We take the breach in controls identified in the NAO report in relation to HS2 Ltd’s unauthorised redundancy payments extremely seriously. In response, the Department for Transport commissioned a diagnostic audit from the Government Internal Audit Agency (GIAA) to look into the governance, risk and control arrangements of the HS2 Ltd redundancy programme. The link to the GIAA report is given below and is attached for ease. https://www.gov.uk/government/uploads/system/uploads/attachment_data/file/654854/hs2-ltd-redundancy-schemes-audit-report.pdf The GIAA report makes a number of recommendations and both HS2 Ltd and the Department for Transport have taken immediate steps to strengthen their controls in response to the weaknesses highlighted by the NAO and GIAA reports. In addition, HS2 Ltd has strengthened its Financial and Human Resources controls and undertaken a full review of its governance structures and delegations. HS2 Ltd is also carry out re-induction of all staff to ensure a greater awareness of the principles for Managing Public Money and the relationship with the Department. Within the Department we are strengthening our shareholder function to ensure more effective corporate control oversight of HS2 Ltd. We are also drafting a protocol which sets out how the Department and HS2 Ltd should communicate regarding issues and decisions related to the discharge of corporate controls. The Department will be working closely with the NAO to assess the progress HS2 Ltd and the Department are making in implementing these actions. 



HS2 Ltd redundancy programme
(PDF Document, 971.84 KB)

High Speed Two: Labour Turnover

baroness randerson: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of (1) rates of staff turnover at HS2 Limited, and (2) the impact of staff changes on the efficient running of that company; and what theyassess to be the causes ofthose rates of turnover.

baroness sugg: HS2 Ltd’s staff turnover rate for the financial year 2017/18 to date (01 April to 30 November 17) is 16.9%. HS2 Ltd assess workforce impact changes and has a clear strategy outlined in its Corporate Plan to manage any impacts of staff turnover. Key factors in HS2 Ltd’s turnover have been the relocation of their headquarters from London to Birmingham, a company wider reorganisation and restructure, changes in skill set requirements as the project transitions in to a build mode, and natural attrition expected in a programme environment. When involuntary turnover is removed from calculations, the turnover rate is comparable with other industry organisations.

Home Office

Asylum: Afghanistan

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byBaroness Williams of Traffordon 19 December (HL3919), whether they consider that it is safe to return personnel who have worked as interpreters to Afghanistan; and what criteria they use to determine whether an interpreter “genuinely needs our protection".

baroness williams of trafford: All asylum claims lodged in the UK, including those made by Afghan nationals who have previously worked as interpreters, are carefully considered on their individual merits by assessing all the evidence provided by the claimant against a background of published country information from the FCO and a wide range of recognised and publicly discloseable sources. These include the media and non-governmental sources, such as the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR), Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.We recognise that those who worked for international military forces may be at risk of retribution, but a grant of asylum is not automatic and an assessment of the threat depends on the circumstances of the case, including factors such as the location and length of employment and whether the individual can relocate to a safer part of the country to avoid persecution. Views are sought from the FCO and MoD on the likely risk to the individual. There are also two Government schemes to assist former interpreters and other locally engaged civilians in Afghanistan. These schemes provide for a safe and legal route for those former employees who require relocation, avoiding the need for dangerous journeys to the UK.Those who are found not to need protection have a right of appeal to the independent courts. Once their appeals rights are exhausted they are expected to leave the UK unless they qualify for leave to remain under another immigration route.

Police: Biometrics

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether the police can automatically wipe custody images and facial biometrics at the point when a person is determined to be innocent; and if not, why not, and whether that is based on costs;and what arethe costings that have been used to make that judgement.

baroness williams of trafford: The police in England and Wales cannot at present automatically wipe facial images at the point when a person is determined to be innocent.This is because information about the outcome of a person’s case is held on the Police National Computer (PNC), while images are initially captured on 43 local force custody systems. In most cases, images are also loaded to the Police National Database (PND), hence a person may have multiple images across the 43 local systems and PND. Therefore, automatic deletion based on the PNC record could not be done without upgrading both the local custody systems and PND.There is no centrally held information on the cost of such an upgrade.

Police: Biometrics

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what are their proposals for automatic deletion of custody images and facial biometrics when the Police National Computer and the Police National Database are merged.

baroness williams of trafford: The Home Office and the National Police Chiefs’ Council are examining future policy on the deletion of custody images and facial biometrics within the context of work on the replacement of the Police National Computer and the Police National Database by the Law Enforcement Data Service.

Visas: Burma

baroness berridge: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many UK visas have been issued to persons living in Myanmarin each visa category since January 2016; and how many they estimate were to (1) Christians, and (2) Muslims.

baroness williams of trafford: The specific data requested is not published by the Home Office.

Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy

Financial Reporting Council

lord myners: To ask Her Majesty's Government, whether they intend to submit a response to the independent review of the Financial Reporting Council's enforcement and sanctions published in October.

lord henley: The determination of sanctioning policy is a matter for the Financial Reporting Council (FRC) as part of the independent exercise of its powers. The FRC commissioned an independent review by Sir Christopher Clarke QC of its framework of sanctions in March 2017. The review concluded with the publication of a report and recommendations on 21 November 2017. It is now a matter for the FRC to take forward the implementation of the recommendations. The Department of Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy will work with the FRC to support them in their implementation of the recommendations as needed.

Foreign and Commonwealth Office

USA: National Security

lord truscott: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment of the implications for theUK of the recently published United States national security strategy.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government shares many of the priorities outlined in the US National Security Strategy published on 18 December 2017, including addressing the challenges posed by North Korea, reducing violent extremism and defeating the remnants of Da'esh, tackling cyber attacks and organised crime, and strengthening the rules-based international system. We welcome the Strategy's restatement of the US commitment to NATO, including Article V of the North Atlantic Treaty, and its recognition that working with Allies such as the UK contributes to collective security. The US and UK are very close allies and partners, with a uniquely broad and deep security relationship, and we will continue to work together on issues vital to the UK's security and prosperity.

North Korea: Cybercrime

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the ability of the government of North Korea to (1) hack crypto-currency exchanges, (2) steal digital money,and (3)carry out cyber robbery, and through such methods to bypass economic sanctions, rob banks, undertake military espionage, or compromise critical infrastructure.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: It is the long-standing policy of the Government not to comment on matters relating to intelligence or national security.

Honduras: Elections

lord hylton: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they are making representations to (1) the government of Honduras, and (2) the Organization of American States,about (a)the disputed presidential election in Honduras, (b) the declaration of a state of emergency, (c) the imposition of martial law, and (d) the killing of peaceful protesters.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The Government is concerned about the fragile political and security situation in Honduras. Senior officials participated in, and support the conclusions of, the EU Election Observer Mission, which had close contact with the Organization of American States' Mission. Our Ambassador to Honduras has called publicly on all sides to protect the human rights of all Hondurans, including freedom of speech, freedom to protest peacefully and private property rights. We have urged the security forces to protect civilians and exercise restraint. While the government of Honduras did impose a curfew on Friday 1 December, this has now expired. We support attempts to resolve the situation through dialogue.

Nepal: Elections

the earl of sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the results of themost recentnational, provincial and local elections in Nepal, and of their consequences for the UK.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The completion of the voting for local, provincial and federal elections this year is a landmark moment for Nepal and represents an important step towards effective implementation of the Constitution of 2015.A full assessment of the results and their consequences for the UK will not be possible until final provincial and general election results are confirmed (and the subsequent indirect election to the National Assembly, or Upper House, takes place).The UK Government will work closely with whoever forms the new Nepali Government, as we have with their predecessors, to secure a lasting political settlement. This is a vital basis for political stability and the sustainable economic growth that will benefit the Nepali people.

South Sudan: Peace Negotiations

the earl of sandwich: To ask Her Majesty's Government what is their assessment ofthe ability of the Intergovernmental Authority on Development to secure a peace agreement in South Sudan; and what assessment they have made of potential alternatives for seeking peace involving the Troika or independent experts.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We strongly support the Intergovernmental Authority on Development (IGAD)’s initiative to revitalise the 2015 Peace Agreement. It is the regional countries who have most ability to influence the South Sudanese to bring an end to the conflict. We are working closely with them and the wider international community to support this. The High Level Revitalisation Forum is a critical opportunity and the most viable initiative to bring all the parties to the conflict round the table. The first priority has been the negotiation of a cessation of hostilities amongst a broad range of armed actors, which has been agreed. We warmly welcome this step and call on all parties to adhere to the agreement.  We continue to work very closely with the US and Norway (our Troika partners) and engage with independent experts to consider how we can best support South Sudan’s process towards peace. We currently assess that IGAD’s revitalisation forum is the best chance that South Sudan has for peace.

India: Religious Freedom

baroness berridge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of statistics published by Aid to the Church in Need showing that there were 316 attacks on Christians in the first five months of 2017 compared to 365 incidents in the whole of 2016; what representations they have made to the government of India regarding the rise in violence towards religious minorities; and what assessment they have made of the situation of religiousminorities in India.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government condemns all instances of discrimination and violence against individuals or groups because of their religion, regardless of the country or faith concerned.We regularly engage with Indian counterparts on a range of human rights issues, including minority rights. The British High Commission in New Delhi and our network of Deputy High Commissions maintain a continuous assessment of the human rights situation across India. We are aware of reported incidents against religious minorities in India and continue to monitor the situation.

Nigeria: Religious Freedom

baroness berridge: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of the current levels of violence between religious groups in Nigeria, and of an estimate by the 2017 Global Terrorism Index which states that 60,000 people have been killed in clashes between predominantly Muslim Fulani Herders and predominantly Christian farmers; and what representations have been made to thegovernment of Nigeria about the levels of religious violence inthat country.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We are concerned by recurrent clashes involving pastoralists and local farmers over land, farming rights, grazing routes and access to water. They have a serious impact on lives and communities of all faiths and are a major barrier to Nigeria's economic development. We discuss the issue with Federal and State Governments and encourage them to work with the affected populations on all sides of the conflict to develop a solution. We welcome President Buhari's commitment to focus on assisting the affected communities, bringing perpetrators to justice and examining longer term peaceful solutions to the conflict.

Bahrain: Finance

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government following the Foreign and Commonwealth Office's shift in funding for Bahrain from the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund to the Global Britain Fund and the Integrated Activity Fund, who will be the beneficiaries of the £1.5 million budget; and according to what parameters and criteria the beneficiaries must spend their allocated funding.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The Government works with a number of implementation partners on Bahraini led reform programmes including in the field of human rights. These programmes aim to support progress on building effective and accountable institutions, strengthening the rule of law, and justice reform. All of our work is in line with international standards, and aims to share UK expertise and experience. Any training provided by or on behalf of the British Government fully complies with our domestic and international human rights obligations.

Sayed Alwadaei

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government, further to the Written Answer byLord Ahmad of Wimbledon on 15 December (HL3730), and the concern expressed by the UN Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights six UN special rapporteurs that the measures taken against the family of Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei sought to intimidate and impair his human rights activities, what specific assurancesthey have received from the government of Bahrain; and what steps they have taken to independently verifythose assurances.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We have raised these cases at a senior level with the Bahraini authorities. The Government of Bahrain has also released public statements on these cases, with reassurances that the legal cases against the individuals are not related to Mr Al Wadaei’s activities. We understand that Mr Al Wadaei has been able to continue with his work.

Bahrain: Detainees

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what representationsthey have made to the government of Bahrain regarding the denial of adequate medical care and prevention of family visitation to detainees in Jau Prison, including (1) Hasan Mushaima, (2) AbdulHadi Alkhawaja, and (3) Dr Abduljalil Alsingace.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The UK has a continuing dialogue with the Government of Bahrain in which we are able to raise individual cases at a senior level, including the referenced cases.We encourage those with concerns about treatment in detention to report these to the relevant human rights oversight bodies. We urge these bodies to carry out swift and thorough investigations. The UK continues to encourage the Government of Bahrain to deliver on its international and domestic human rights commitments.

Sayed Alwadaei

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what evaluationthey have made of the fairness of the trial of Sayed Ahmed Alwadaei’sin the light of concerns about the reported lack of physical evidence and coerced confessions.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: ​The British Government is closely following this case and our representatives regularly attend court hearings. We have raised this case at a senior level with the Government of Bahrain. We understand there is a right of appeal to the Court of Cassation and we will continue to monitor proceedings.

Nabeel Rajab

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of thegovernment of Bahrain'sclassification of Nabeel Rajab as a threat to prison population, and of his incarceration with convicted ISIS affiliates.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: We continue to follow the case of Nabeel Rajab closely and have raised it at a senior level with the Government of Bahrain. We encourage those with concerns about their treatment in detention to report these to the appropriate human rights oversight bodies. We encourage the oversight bodies to carry out swift and thorough investigations into any such complaints.

Duaa Alwadaei

lord scriven: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the recent charges brought against Duaa Alwadaei.

lord ahmad of wimbledon: The British Embassy in Bahrain is seeking clarification from the Bahraini authorities on these charges.

Attorney General

Rape: Trials

lord morris of aberavon: To ask Her Majesty's Government what discussions the Attorney General has had with the Director of Public Prosecutions regarding trials where the prosecution has ceased to prosecute rape cases in recent months; and how many rape cases have been discontinued in court due to a failure to disclose evidence in the last three months.

lord keen of elie: The Attorney General has frequent discussions with the Director of Public Prosecutions (DPP) on a range of issues relating to the prosecution of rape and sexual offending.This month the DPP is bringing together partners from across the criminal justice system to discuss the challenges of satisfying the statutory disclosure test in the digital age.More broadly, the Attorney General has also announced that he is undertaking a review of disclosure in the criminal justice system to ensure it is fit for purpose.There are a number of reasons why a rape prosecution may not be continued with. Internal CPS case outcome recording data for 2016-17 shows that issues connected to the disclosure of unused material were recorded as the primary reason for 2% of the rape prosecutions that were subsequently not proceeded with after charge. More recent data are not currently available.

Department for International Development

Greek Islands: Refugees

baroness massey of darwen: To ask Her Majesty's Government what, if any, support they are providing to efforts by (1) the government of Greece, (2) the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, and (3) Greek and international non-governmental organisations, to monitor hotspots for migrants and refugees in the Greek islands and in particular the needs of unaccompanied minors.

lord bates: In response to the refugee crisis in Greece, the UK has provided 500,000 relief items such as tents, blankets and clothes, delivered more than 1.4 million meals to vulnerable migrants and refugees and supported safe accommodation spaces for children (totalling £39 million). At the height of the crisis the UK was one of the first donors to make substantial funding available.Whilst UK funding has ended, along with support to the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, the UK continues to support Greece under the EU-Turkey Deal. Since 2016 we have delivered two packages of support – including a combined total of up to 115 expert staff – to ease overcrowding on the islands and accelerate the asylum and returns processes.

Department for Education

Schools: Admissions

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many further responses they received to their consultation Schools that work for everyone following the conclusion of the consultation period; how many of those responses related to the 50 per cent cap on faith school admissions; and how many of those responses were (1) in favour of retaining the cap, and(2) in favour of its removal.

lord agnew of oulton: The responses to the ‘Schools that work for everyone’ consultation remain under consideration. We will publish details of the responses to the consultation alongside our response in due course. This will cover any responses where special dispensation was made to accept them after the closing date.

Universities: Finance

lord chidgey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey have made of the exposure of universities to illicit financial flows through university engagement with philanthropic sources of funding.

viscount younger of leckie: The department has not made any assessment of illicit flows of funding to universities. However, as a result of the Higher Education and Research Act 2017, the Office for Students (OfS), as the market regulator, will act swiftly and decisively where the interest of the student and the taxpayer is at risk at any registered provider of higher education. OfS will have a range of powers that it will employ at a sector and individual provider level, as appropriate and proportionate, both to prevent fraud and to act when fraud is suspected.

Doctors: Training

lord clark of windermere: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many undergraduates in total were enrolled in UK university training to be doctors on 1 November of (1) 2010, (2) 2011, (3) 2012, (4) 2013, (5) 2014, (6) 2015, (7) 2016, and (8) 2017; and how many new undergraduates enrolled in UK universities to train to be doctors in each year from 2010 to 2017.

viscount younger of leckie: The Higher Education Statistics Agency collects data on students enrolled and qualifying from courses at UK Higher Education Institutions, including information on subject of study. The attached table shows the numbers of enrolments in first degrees in pre-clinical and clinical medicine (as defined by the Joint Academic Coding System in each academic year, including how many were newly enrolled that year (“entrants”)). Information for the 2016/17 academic year will become available on the 11 January 2018.



Enrolments in medicine UK HEIA 2010/11 - 2015/16
(Word Document, 14.85 KB)

Ministry of Justice

Prisons

lord lee of trafford: To ask Her Majesty's Government what ministerial visits to HM Prisons there were in (1) 2016, and (2) 2017.

lord keen of elie: Ministry of Justice records show that Justice Ministers have visited the following prisons in 2016/17 (table attached). Ministers NamePrison visitedDate of visitDavid Lidington, Secretary of State for Justice (SoS)   HMP Pentonville13 July 2017 HMP YOI Feltham24 July 2017 HMYOI Aylesbury26 July 2017 HMP Coldingley8 August 2017 HMP Parc9 September 2017 HMP Bronzefield20 October 2017 HMP Onley3 November 2017Elizabeth Truss (former SoS for Justice)   HMP Belmarsh15 July 2016 HMP Isis15 July 2016 HMP Norwich30 August 2016 HMP Brixton13 October 2016 HMP Thameside14 October 2016 HMP Bronzefield21 October 2016 HMP Brixton1 November 2016 HMP Lincoln18 November 2016 HMP Norwich25 November 2016 HMP Pentonville1 December 2016 HMP Wandsworth13 December 2016 HMYOI Cookham Wood7 January 2017 Medway STC6 January 2016 HMP Rochester20 January 2017 HMP Bristol3 February 2017 HMP Thameside17 February 2017 HMP YOI Chelmsford17 February 2017 HMP Onley31 March 2017 HMP Isis3 April 2017 HMP Wayland12 April 2017Michael Gove (former SoS for Justice)HMP The Mount5 February 2016 HMP Grendon5 February 2016 HMP Highpoint26 February 2016Sam Gyimah   HMP Coldingley2 August 2016 HMP Wormwood Scrubs30 August 2016 HMP Lewes11 November 2016 HMP Leeds18 November 2016 HMP Bedford8 December 2016 HMP Ranby15 December 2016 HMP Birmingham21 December 2016 HMP Downview12 January 2017 HMP Chelmsford31 January 2017 HMP Winchester31 January 2017 HMP Rye Hill16 February 2017 HMP Woodhill2 March 2017 HMP Guys Marsh20 March 2017 HMP Huntercombe23 March 2017 HMP Onley29 March 2017 HMP Standford Hill320 April 2017 HMP Swaleside20 April 2017 HMP Maidstone24 April 2017 HMP Stoke Heath22 June 2017 HMP Belmarsh28 August 2017Dr Phillip Lee   HMP Rochester21 July 2016 HMP Medway24 November 2016 HMP Peterborough ( female)1 December 2016 HMP Wetherby8 December 2016 HMP Bronzefield15 December 2016 HMP Drake Hall12 January 2017 HMP Askham Grange30 January 2017 HMP Styal23 February 2017 HMP Low Newton9 March 2017 HMP East wood Park30 March 2017 HMP Downview20 April 2017 HMP New Hall19 October 2017 HMP Wandsworth14 December 2017Sir Oliver Heald QC   HMP High Down9 December 2016 HMP Eastwood Park20 December 2016Ministers NamePrison visitedDate of visitDavid Lidington, Secretary of State for Justice (SoS)   HMP Pentonville13 July 2017 HMP YOI Feltham24 July 2017 HMYOI Aylesbury26 July 2017 HMP Coldingley8 August 2017 HMP Parc9 September 2017 HMP Bronzefield20 October 2017 HMP Onley3 November 2017Elizabeth Truss (former SoS for Justice)   HMP Belmarsh15 July 2016 HMP Isis15 July 2016 HMP Norwich30 August 2016 HMP Brixton13 October 2016 HMP Thameside14 October 2016 HMP Bronzefield21 October 2016 HMP Brixton1 November 2016 HMP Lincoln18 November 2016 HMP Norwich25 November 2016 HMP Pentonville1 December 2016 HMP Wandsworth13 December 2016 HMYOI Cookham Wood7 January 2017 Medway STC6 January 2016 HMP Rochester20 January 2017 HMP Bristol3 February 2017 HMP Thameside17 February 2017 HMP YOI Chelmsford17 February 2017 HMP Onley31 March 2017 HMP Isis3 April 2017 HMP Wayland12 April 2017Michael Gove (former SoS for Justice)HMP The Mount5 February 2016 HMP Grendon5 February 2016 HMP Highpoint26 February 2016Sam Gyimah   HMP Coldingley2 August 2016 HMP Wormwood Scrubs30 August 2016 HMP Lewes11 November 2016 HMP Leeds18 November 2016 HMP Bedford8 December 2016 HMP Ranby15 December 2016 HMP Birmingham21 December 2016 HMP Downview12 January 2017 HMP Chelmsford31 January 2017 HMP Winchester31 January 2017 HMP Rye Hill16 February 2017 HMP Woodhill2 March 2017 HMP Guys Marsh20 March 2017 HMP Huntercombe23 March 2017 HMP Onley29 March 2017 HMP Standford Hill320 April 2017 HMP Swaleside20 April 2017 HMP Maidstone24 April 2017 HMP Stoke Heath22 June 2017 HMP Belmarsh28 August 2017Dr Phillip Lee   HMP Rochester21 July 2016 HMP Medway24 November 2016 HMP Peterborough ( female)1 December 2016 HMP Wetherby8 December 2016 HMP Bronzefield15 December 2016 HMP Drake Hall12 January 2017 HMP Askham Grange30 January 2017 HMP Styal23 February 2017 HMP Low Newton9 March 2017 HMP East wood Park30 March 2017 HMP Downview20 April 2017 HMP New Hall19 October 2017 HMP Wandsworth14 December 2017Sir Oliver Heald QC   HMP High Down9 December 2016 HMP Eastwood Park20 December 2016

Ministry of Defence

Korea: Warships

lord alton of liverpool: To ask Her Majesty's Government what role they expect (1) HMS Argyll, and (2) HMS Sutherland, to play in supporting the United States military presence on and around the Korean Peninsula.

earl howe: The deployments of HMS SUTHERLAND and HMS ARGYLL to the Asia Pacific will support a range of defence engagement and prosperity objectives and will demonstrate the United Kingdom's commitment to peace and security throughout the wider region. Both deployments will include joint training and exercises with a number of allies and close partners. These may include exercises with both the United States Navy and the Republic of Korea Navy if and when the ships are in Korean waters.

Department for Work and Pensions

Welfare State: Reform

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what action they have taken to assess the impact of welfare reforms since 2012 on homelessness; andif such assessments have been undertaken, what were the conclusions.

baroness buscombe: The causes of homelessness are numerous and complex. There is currently no clear evidence of the impact of welfare reform amongst all of the other potential causes of homelessness; homelessness reflects a combination of individual, local and national factors. The Department for Work and Pensions will continue to work with the Department for Communities and Local Government to improve our understanding of local housing markets and welfare reform, helping us evaluate fully the causes of homelessness. The Secretary of State for Communities and Local Government announced on 30 November 2017 that his Department, working with Department for Work and Pensions, will be commissioning a feasibility study to determine how we can carry out robust and useful research into the causes of homelessness and rough sleeping.

State Retirement Pensions: British Nationals Abroad

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many state pensions are being paid to people living overseas.

baroness kennedy of cradley: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many people living overseas (1) benefit from annual state pension increases, and (2)have their state pension frozen.

baroness buscombe: The UK State Pension is a contributory based pension payable worldwide, without regard to nationality, to those who meet the eligibility criteria. But it is up-rated abroad only where there is a legal requirement to do so - for example, where UK State Pension recipients are living within the European Economic Area, Switzerland and Gibraltar or in countries where there is a reciprocal agreement that provides for up-rating of the UK State Pension. This is a longstanding policy of successive Governments which has remained consistent for around 70 years. At May 2017, the latest date for which data is available, there were 1,215,200 recipients of the State Pension residing overseas; 678,100 recipients were resident in countries where annual increases of State Pension are paid, and 537,100 recipients were resident in countries where the State Pension is not up-rated. Figures have been rounded to the nearest 100.

Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

Squirrels: Conservation

lord macpherson of earl's court: To ask Her Majesty's Government what contribution they made to the 2014 UK Squirrel Accord; and whether the red squirrel population is expanding relative to that of grey squirrels across theUK.

lord gardiner of kimble: The Government is committed to protecting and expanding red squirrel populations and tackling the threats that grey squirrels pose to them. Defra and the devolved administrations are signatories to the UK Squirrel Accord, which aims to promote a coordinated approach to controlling grey squirrels and securing the future of our red squirrels. The UK Squirrel Accord supports the Government’s long term strategy for controlling grey squirrel populations. Defra has provided funding to the Animal and Plant Health Agency to explore the potential for developing a fertility control method for grey squirrels. In addition the Forestry Commission works with Natural England and other bodies as part of the Red Squirrel Northern England Project, a conservation project to help protect red squirrels and expand the biggest population of red squirrels left in England. Recent evidence shows the range for red squirrel presence in northern England is stable.

Department for Communities and Local Government

Housing: Ebbsfleet

lord kennedy of southwark: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many new homes have been built in Ebbsfleet since the creation of the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The Government’s ambition is for the creation of 15,000 new homes at Ebbsfleet. Since the creation of the Ebbsfleet Development Corporation in April 2015, over 1000 homes have been started within the Ebbsfleet planning authority area. 438 of these have been completed. Alongside healthy initial construction, there is outline planning consent for 10,694 new homes in Ebbsfleet and detailed planning consent for 2,088 units.

Empty Property: Taxation

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they havemade of theimpact ofincreasing tax rates on the 280,000 privately owned long-term empty homes in England on the overall quantity of housing supply.

the lord bishop of st albans: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessmentthey havemade of theimpact of increasing tax rates on the 280,000 privately owned long-term empty homes in Englandontax revenues.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: The number of homes in England that have been empty for more than six months has reduced from over 300,000 in May 2010 to 206,236 in November 2017. The Government has announced that measures will be introduced to increase, from 50 per cent to 100 per cent, the council tax premium paid on homes empty for more than two years.

Councillors: Council Tax

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government what consequences a local authority monitoring officer would face, under the Local Government and Housing Act 1989 or other relevant laws, if he or she allowed an elected member who had not paid their council tax to vote on the council budget.

lord bourne of aberystwyth: Section 106 of the Local Government Finance Act 1992 makes it an offence for a councillor in council tax arrears (with at least two months unpaid bills) to vote at a meeting of the council where financial matters relating to council tax are being considered.Monitoring Officers have a specific duty to report on any matters they believe are, or may be illegal. A failure to report any illegal activity would be a disciplinary matter for the relevant local authority.

HM Treasury

Credit Unions

lord elystan-morgan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assistance they have given to credit unions in the UK in the last two financial years.

lord bates: The government is committed to supporting credit unions, which provide vital services to financially under-served communities and contribute to the diversity of the UK’s financial services sector. Over the last two financial years, the government has done this by: Announcing at Autumn Budget 2017, that where a credit union’s membership conditions are based on locality, a credit union will be able to increase the number of potential members it can have to from 2 to 3 million. The legislation to make this change was laid in November 2017 and comes into force in April 2018.Announcing at Autumn Statement 2016 that, from 2018, an existing scheme which incentivises credit union membership in communities at risk of being targeted by loan sharks, will be expanded. This uses funds recovered under the Proceeds of Crime Act from convicted loan sharks.Contributing £600,000 to an initiative developed by the Archbishop of Canterbury and Young Enterprise, to start savings clubs in primary schools and educate young children in the benefits of saving. Lifesavers works with local credit unions to help run savings clubs with schoolchildren, and is currently being piloted in six primary schools.Providing funding for the Credit Union Expansion Project, delivered by the Association of British Credit Unions Ltd. In 2017, three credit unions with a total membership of 16,500 began using an online banking platform provided by this project.

Credit

lord elystan-morgan: To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made of how the UK compares with the Republic of Ireland, Canada and New Zealand in the provision of personal credit to its citizens.

lord bates: The government has not made a formal assessment of this kind. The Bank for International Settlements publishes international comparisons of credit provision. In the latest figures from Q2 2017, total credit to the non-financial sector as a percentage of GDP was 281.0 in the UK, 345.2 in the Republic of Ireland, 296.0 in Canada, and 208.3 in New Zealand.

Cabinet Office

Brexit

lord elystan-morgan: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether theyintend toestablish, jointly with the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, a body to advise them on which powers,currently vested in the EU, could appropriately be devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the completion of Brexit.

lord young of cookham: We are continuing to work closely with the devolved administrations to quickly determine where common approaches will and will not be required in the future. These discussions are guided by the common frameworks principles agreed at JMC(EN) on 16 October https://www.gov.uk/government/news/progress-made-at-eu-talks-with-devolved-governments--2. We know that there will be some areas where we will continue to need common frameworks, but equally some areas where common frameworks would not be needed. The Government expects that the return of powers from the EU will lead to a significant increase in the decision making powers for the devolved administrations.

Brexit

lord elystan-morgan: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether theyintend topublish a green paper on which powerscurrently vested in the EU could appropriately be devolved to Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland on the completion of Brexit.

lord young of cookham: The UK, Scottish and Welsh Governments agreed at JMC(EN) on 16 October the principles that will guide how we approach common frameworks in future https://www.gov.uk/government/news/progress-made-at-eu-talks-with-devolved-governments--2. Discussions with the devolved administrations in these areas are ongoing. We do not expect there to be a need for frameworks in all areas currently governed by EU law, and so the Government expects that the return of powers from the EU will lead to a significant increase in the decision making powers for the devolved administrations.

Government Bills

lord hodgson of astley abbotts: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they plan to introduce any bills in the current sessionusing the special procedure for Law Commission bills.

lord young of cookham: The Government works closely with the Law Commissions and is supportive of their work to improve the statute book. The introduction of new Bills will be announced in the usual manner.

Census

lord hodgson of astley abbotts: To ask Her Majesty's Government whether they have any plans to include in the next census questions which measure social integration; and if so, what are those plans.

lord young of cookham: The information requested falls within the responsibility of the UK Statistics Authority. I have asked the Authority to reply and I will place a copy of their letter in the Library of the House.



UKSA Response 
(PDF Document, 116.95 KB)

OSCE Parliamentary Assembly

lord jopling: To ask Her Majesty's Government why only three peers were appointed to the 13 strong delegation to the OSCE Parliamentary Assembly.

lord young of cookham: The process for nominating representatives to serve on the Organisation for Security and Co-operation in Europe (OSCE) Parliamentary Delegation is a matter for individual political parties. It is well precedented and not unusual for three Peers to be appointed as full members to the OSCE Parliamentary delegation. During the 2015-17 Parliament, three Peers were appointed as full members to the delegation and one Peer as a substitute member. In the current Parliament, three Peers have been appointed as full members and two as substitute members.

Department for International Trade

Department for International Trade: Scotland

lord dunlop: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many Department for International Trade officials are based in Scotland; and what are the functions of those officials.

baroness fairhead: The Department for International Trade has 18 officials based in its offices in Glasgow.The functions of those are shown in the table below. Export and Investment Promotion10Communications & Marketing5UK Export Finance3

Department for International Trade: Staff

lord dunlop: To ask Her Majesty's Government in how many overseas locations Department for International Trade officials are co-located with the staff of Scottish Development International; and how this has changed over the last five years.

baroness fairhead: The Department for International Trade (DIT) (and previously UKTI staff) are co-located with Scottish Development International (SDI) staff in a number of locations; specific details below. DIT are always prepared, where logistically possible to work with SDI colleagues on co-location overseas.Brazil Rio de JaneiroCanada Calgary and TorontoUSA November 2017Australia & New Zealand Melbourne since 2016 (previously Sydney)China BeijingHong KongIndia Mymbai, New Delhi and HydrabadDenmark CopenhagenGhana AccraSaudi Arabia Al Khobar – established February 2014UAE DubaiTaiwan Taipei

Exports

lord dunlop: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many (1) UK exporters, and (2) Scottish exporters, have participated in the High Value Opportunity programme.

baroness fairhead: The Department for International Trade (DIT) supports UK businesses through a range of programmes aimed at increasing exports. Through 2016-17 DIT supported its customers to achieve £41.6bn in export wins, which included working with 2,811 new exporters. These figures, published in our annual report, include support to Scottish exporters. In the financial year 2016-17 the High Value Opportunity programme was replaced by the High Value Campaign programme.

Trade Missions: Scotland

lord dunlop: To ask Her Majesty's Government what information they hold on Scottish company representation on trade missions organised by the UK Government.

baroness fairhead: All UK companies, including those located or operating in Scotland, are able to access the Department for International Trade’s (DIT) national events and missions programme. This is viewable on great.gov.uk which is promoted nationally. DIT keeps a record of all companies who take part in trade missions so that we can ensure we continue to support them throughout their export journey, including any export wins. In the first six months of this financial year, 19 Scottish companies took part in missions organised by DIT.

Department for Digital, Culture, Media and Sport

Youth Services

lord storey: To ask Her Majesty's Government how much they have spent on youth service in each of the last five years.

lord ashton of hyde: Local authorities are responsible for allocating funding to youth services in line with local need. The Government has made over £200bn available to local authorities to spend on local services over this Spending Review. The Government is committed to making sure young people have opportunities to develop their skills and participate in their communities. The Office for Civil Society (OCS) has spent over £475m on youth programmes and supporting youth service delivery between 2014/15 and 2016/17 - the first full financial year that youth policy sat in OCS to the last completed financial year.

Department of Health

Nurses

lord clark of windermere: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many qualified nurses were employed in the NHS in each year since May 2010.

lord clark of windermere: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many full-time equivalent qualified nurses were employed in the NHS in each year since May 2010.

lord clark of windermere: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many full-time equivalent doctors were employed in the NHS in each year since May 2010.

lord clark of windermere: To ask Her Majesty's Government how many doctors were employed in the NHS on(1) 1 May 2010, (2) 1 May 2015, and (3)the most recent date for which figures are available.

lord o'shaughnessy: NHS Digital publishes workforce statistics and a table showing full time equivalent and headcount figures for Hospital and Community Health Service (HCHS) doctors and qualified nurses and health visitors working in National Health Service trusts and clinical commissioning groups from 31 May 2010 to 30 September 2017 is attached due to the size of the data. Qualified nurses are those identified on the electronic staff record as nurses and health visitors but does not include midwives. Doctors includes all HCHS doctor grades including all junior doctors.



Workforce statistics 2010-2017
(Word Document, 15.25 KB)